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Virginia fans react as Notre Dame's Will Fuller (7) scores on a touchdown pass with UVA's Maurica Canady (26) falling after attempting to stop the play during an NCAA college football game in Charlottesville, Va., Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015. (P. Kevin Morley/AP)

Opponent Watch: Tomahawk Hope Edition

Each week in this space, we examine two things: Notre Dame’s strength of schedule (from USA Today‘s Sagarin rankings), and who Irish opponents are facing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, I’ll give you my recommendation for who to watch when you’re not watching Notre Dame Football.

Who To Watch

Virginia (2-0) vs Florida State (1-1), Sat 7:30PM ET, ACC Network

This week’s primetime game provides a bit of intrigue for Irish fans. On the one hand there’s a plucky Virginia squad, picked by many pundits to end up facing Clemson in the ACC title game — and more immediately for Notre Dame fans, the trap game following the Georgia road game.

On the other hand, we have The Noles(tm) who are desperately trying to assemble something resembling a defense. If Florida State manages a victory here, it will tell us much more about Virginia’s ceiling than any near-term Seminole potential — FSU can score points in bunches, but thus far inconsistency has been their calling card, and the latter half of their schedule does them no favors for bowl eligibility.

So for a few hours at least, let’s hope Irish fans can savor a Saturday win, avoid the UGA panic for a couple hours, and watch a middling team flail about in their quest for a .500 record.

Other Upcoming Opponents

Boston College (2-0) vs Kansas (Fri 7:30PM ET, ACC Network)

Virginia Tech (1-1) vs Furman (Sat 12:00PM ET, ACC Network)

Georgia (2-0) vs Arkansas State (Sat 12:00PM ET, ESPN2)

Stanford (1-1) at UCF (Sat 3:30PM ET, ESPN)

Southern Cal (2-0) at BYU (Sat 3:30PM ET, ABC)

Navy (1-0) vs East Carolina (Sat 3:30PM ET, CBS Sports Network)

Bowling Green (1-1) vs Louisiana Tech (Sat 5:00PM ET, ESPN+)

Duke (1-1) at Middle Tennessee (Sat 7:00PM ET)

Past Opponents

Louisville (1-1) vs Western Kentucky (Sat 4:00PM ET)

Schedule Strength

Last week, Notre Dame’s 2019 opponents went 8-2. On the year, Irish opponents are 17-5 (77% win rate) with an average schedule strength of 112.